Blog Tour and Guest interview: The Shadow of Atlantis

I am overjoyed to be interviewing one of the outstanding time travellers of our generation today – Max, the Tonkinese cat, who stars in the Shadows from the Past series by Wendy Leighton-Porter. To start, find out about the first in the series – The Shadow of Atlantis, and you can click the links in the Buzz section to read my reviews of both Atlantis and the second in the series, Shadow of the Minotaur. After the interview, read on to enter the great Giveaway for the Shadow of Atlantis Blog Tour.

About the Book

Title: The Shadow of Atlantis (Shadows From the Past, Book 1)

Author: Wendy Leighton-Porter

Year Published: 2012

Publisher: Mauve Square Publishing

Pages: 196

Recommended Age: 8+

Summary (Amazon):

Ten-year-old twins Joe and Jemima Lancelot have no idea why their parents have disappeared, but a mysterious old book which had belonged to their father holds the answer… and so begins an unusual quest to discover the truth.

Together with Max, their remarkable Tonkinese cat, and Charlie from next door, the children embark on an epic adventure, travelling back in time to the lost city of Atlantis. Once there, however, they soon run into problems.

Can they save the people of Atlantis from the disaster which is about to destroy their land forever?

And will they find their way back to the safety of their own time before it’s too late?

The Buzz

“Shadows of Atlantis is a well-written story with a collection of likable main characters, a solid plot line, snippets of educational facts about a historically important location and event, and, is filled with mystery, magic, and suspense. This book grabbed me at the prologue and had me hooked until the end.” ~ Mother Daughter Book Reviews, 5 Stars

“… Shadow of Atlantis is an imaginative tale that will draw children in right from the get go. The characters are deftly and warmly established, and Wendy shows a sure touch in enabling these characters to interact in a fun but believable fashion, each playing their own part in the plot’s development….” ~ 5-Star review from John C., Amazon US

“The author makes the legend of Atlantis (and also the story of the Minotaur in the second book) so accessible to kids and in such an imaginative way. My daughter loved the children’s characters and also the comical, lovable cat Max and his ability to help the characters out during times of strife! We will be looking out for future books from this author for sure. A really enjoyable adventure for kids and highly recommended…” ~ 5-Star review from A. Bradshaw, Amazon US

“This story will draw any young reader in will keep them entertained and engaged. It is sometimes hard to find books that will keep children interested, often their subject matter is trivial and insubstantial, this is not true of The Shadow of Atlantis. My daughter can’t wait for the next adventure…” ~ 5-Star review from Annaliese M., Goodreads

and I said:

Although the story is in itself an interesting and enjoyable adventure, there is the overarching theme of the search for Jemima and Joe’s parents, who disappeared one day. They also went exploring using the strange book – but didn’t know about the translation device, and through another simple mistake are trapped wherever they last went. There is plenty of scope for Ms Leighton-Porter to take us through a raft of ancient civilisations in the search for them, and I for one am looking forward to the journey. See the full review here

Now for the interview with the star of the series, Max

First and most importantly, Max, what is your favourite food? Did you have any difficulties with food on your travels with your humans? What was the worst thing you had to eat?

I do enjoy my food, I must admit, and my absolute favourite is roast chicken or ham. Whilst on our travels, I found some of the food we were given rather strange and there certainly didn’t seem to be any cat food on offer. I think the worst thing I had was when we went to ancient Egypt, where they gave me mashed-up beans and bread for my breakfast … ugh!

People reading this may not know much about you yet. What is your background and your home?

Well, as you may already know, I’m a lilac-point Tonkinese, a bit of an aristocat with along pedigree! My father was called Merlin and my mother’s name was Sabrina Fayre. I’m the spitting image of my father and have a photo to prove it. He was very handsome, so I obviously take after him!

When I was 13 weeks old, the Lancelot family came to see the lady who bred me, looking for a kitten to buy and they chose me – well, who wouldn’t? Although I belong to the whole family, I’m really Jemima’s cat – we have a special bond, you see. And since the disappearance of their parents, when the twins and I moved to live with their Uncle Richard, Jemima and I have become even closer.

I’ve always been able to understand everything people said to me. I even tried to answer them and Mum (Jemima’s mum) was sure I was trying to speak – I did wonder if maybe humans were just too dim to understand. I found out from a cat I met in ancient Egypt that many cats are able to understand human speech, but it’s probably only cats of royal descent that truly have the power to do so. I was rather pleased to hear that – it means I must have royal blood running in my veins.

I’m sure you do. It goes without saying, really. How do you see your role in life? Did you have any training for this role?

I have to say that my role is to keep an eye on the children – Joe and Jemima, and their friend Charlie. They get themselves into some really sticky situations and I dread to think what might happen to them without my help. Unfortunately no one warned me that I’d be doing this sort of thing when I grew up, so I was totally unprepared for such a responsibility – I just have to improvise when danger looms, but I don’t think I’ve done too badly so far. What a good job I’m such an intelligent and resourceful cat!

I’ve only read about your trip to Atlantis and to the Minotaur, and many of our readers will not have read either. Without giving too much away, what was your favourite historical place of all the places your author has written about so far?

As long as you promise not to tell anyone else, Jemima, I’ll let you in to a little secret – I’ve been absolutely terrified on each one of our journeys so far. We always seem to find ourselves in such dangerous places; wars, monsters, tidal waves, volcanoes … you name it, we’ve been there, and I’m starting to worry about how many of my nine lives I’ve used up in the process. If I had to choose one place though, it would probably be Atlantis, at the beginning of all our adventures. It wouldn’t be for any of the reasons most of you out there might think – I know that many people would like to have seen the famous city before it disappeared forever. No, for me the reason is much more personal; I met the love of my life in Atlantis. Although, I’ll probably never see her again, I’ll never forget my beloved Mia, the dear little cat I rescued from the Temple of Poseidon. We were lucky enough to meet up again on my second trip into the past, but that was the last time I saw her. However, I do have a photo to remember her by, but that’s another story.

That’s so romantic. I’m sorry you won’t meet her again, though. Tell me, though, with all this excitement, what would you pick out as the most exciting thing you’ve done in your life? What was your most embarrassing moment?

Probably the most exciting thing I’ve done was to steal the famous sword Excalibur from a Saxon warlord, so I could give it to King Arthur. How many other cats could claim to have done that, eh? Er, well, actually one other cat, I suppose … you see I had a bit of help from a rather brave black cat called Midnight. If you want to know how we did it, you’ll just have to read The Shadow of Camelot!

I’ve had more than a few embarrassing incidents, for example I didn’t like it when I had to be disguised as a baby during our trip to Atlantis – that was really undignified. But I think my most embarrassing moment happened when I first met the famous Boy-King Tutankhamun at his palace in ancient Egypt. I ran off screaming when I saw him, because I thought he was a mummy. It wasn’t my fault though. His legs were wrapped in bandages, following an unfortunate encounter with a crocodile and, from where I was standing, that was all I could see. Easy mistake to make! Jemima was pretty cross with me for behaving like that in front of a Pharaoh.

Well, it was totally understandable, though. Most people would surely have done the same. All things considered, though, what would you most like to change in your life?

I’d really like to find Mum and Dad, the twins’ missing parents. They’re trapped somewhere in the past and can’t find their way home. In fact, I wish I could have stopped them disappearing in the first place. You see, I was there when it happened and saw everything, but at that time I couldn’t say anything. And now we keep having to travel back in time looking for them and some of the places we’ve been to have been very scary. I’m always worried that we might not make it home either, so I just want our search to be over, once and for all. Also, the twins really miss their parents and are sad without them – I’d like to make them happy again.

That’s very loyal and noble of you. I suppose it should be expected though, given your pedigree. But what if you were in a life-or-death situation – who would you most like to be with then?

It would have to be Jemima. I love her so much and I know she loves me too – I hate it when we’re apart. If it came to a life-or-death situation, I know she’d do anything to save me and I would do the same for her. Although, thinking about it, I’d like the two boys, Joe and Charlie, to be there too. I’m very fond of them both, despite the fact that Joe teases me constantly. We make a good team, the four of us. We’ve already had one or two narrow escapes during our adventures so far, but luckily we’ve managed to get away in one piece every time … I hope it stays that way.

And finally, if you weren’t you, who would you like to be?

That’s a really hard question! I had thought that I might like to be a lion. They’re very noble creatures and people are always saying I look a bit like a lion, you know … but, on reflection, I think I’d like to be Puss in Boots from the Shrek movies. I’d probably look quite dashing in those leather boots, don’t you think?!

I do indeed Max. It’s been a pleasure talking to you.

Thank you for interviewing me, Jemima. I’ve really enjoyed answering all your questions. And, by the way, I think you and I could become good friends – anyone called Jemima just has to be my sort of person!

Purchase

Great Deal!!

*** You can buy the all 6 books (electronic copies) in the series (The Shadow of Atlantis, The Shadow of the Minotaur, The Shadow of the Trojan Horse, The Shadow of the Pyramid, The Shadow of the Volcano, and The Shadow of Camelot) for only 99 centseach from Amazon between October 14 and 28, 2013. Get hooked on this great series NOW by clicking on the Amazon button below. ***

And now for the Giveaway!

*** The Shadow of Atlantis Blog Tour Giveaway ***

Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by author Wendy Leighton-Porter and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.